How to Learn English Fast and Easy: Step-by-Step Guide to Better Language Skills

13.11.2018

Is English easy to learn? Despite its crazy spelling and a long list of irregular verbs, English remains one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It’s the main language of global science, aviation, diplomacy, business, tourism, and the internet.

According to the British Council, about two billion people will be using English by 2020, — or learning to use it. Because of its popularity, there won’t be a lack of learning resources, whether you want to study and practice your skills online or offline.

But how to learn English fast? To help you create an effective study strategy, we’ve developed a list of practical English learning tips which you can start using right away. Let’s have a closer look at our simple step-by-step guide.

How to learn English effectively

Have a clear vision

Before getting an answer to your question “How can I learn English”, find a reason why you need to improve your language skills. Having a clear vision will:

help you stay focused and consistent during a learning process.

give you a considerable portion of motivation to keep on the path, even if you find yourself losing interest in learning English.

create an atmosphere in which you study not because you have to, but because you want to.

Reflect on the reasons why learning this language is so crucial for you. Do you have a specific purpose? Make sure that it’s significant enough to motivate you to keep on moving forward throughout your language learning journey. The more focused you are, the faster and easier you’ll make progress.

Set specific goals

How long does it take you to learn English? First of all, it depends on your goals and a study schedule. After specifying why you want to become proficient in English, write down WHAT exactly you want to achieve and WHEN. Setting clear and specific goals will give you the needed clarity of the process and help you make the right decisions. Set a long and short-term goal and focus on working towards them.

Pay attention that poor goals are not specified and have no time limits. So, adding deadlines is crucial for evaluating your progress.

Besides, unclear goals don’t have an accurate measure of success. What do you mean by “speak fluently”? What do you need to do to enrol at the desired university? Perhaps, it’s required to pass the TOEFL/ IELTS exam or have a B2 level. Find your measure of success and make your goals as detailed as possible.

Within six months, I want to be able to speak with my business partners and email them in English quickly without using a dictionary.

Within three months, I must be able to carry on a conversation on common topics (weather, tourism, sports, etc.) with native English speakers.

After nine months of learning English online, I want to score 100 points in the TOEFL exam, so that I can apply and get accepted to the Columbia University.

Make your goals ambitious, but stay realistic at the same time. If you work for twelve hours per day, don’t spend three hours a day on studying English. Overscheduling never leads to high results. Instead, think out a balanced learning plan — start small, but learn regularly. In fact, daily practising is a key to your language proficiency. Even if you spend only 20 minutes on it, instead of an hour, it’s better than nothing.

Do you like to learn English on Skype with a tutor or prefer studying in a group? There are different ways of learning a language. Just find out what works best for you, stay committed to your goals and you’ll learn English in no time.

Find a balance

As you may know, there are four primary language skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. But how do you know what is the most significant? According to Cambridge English and QS global overview of English language skills at work, all of them are equally important. However, some employers consider that a preferable language skill is reading, which is then followed by speaking.

Everything depends on your goals. When it comes to travelling or business trips to another country, speaking fluently and with good pronunciation will surely come in handy. If you want to make friends abroad, improving your writing will help you keep in touch with them via social media and messengers.

So how to study English effectively? In any case, it’s important to keep a balance between these four significant skills while studying. Being proficient in only one of them is not enough for having a good command of a language. Before you can write perfectly, you have to read well. On the other hand, to respond with ease, firstly, you should be able to discern the succession of words that you hear and of course, understand them.

As you can see, each skill relies on the other one. Thus, the best way to learn a language is to create a balanced learning plan. For example, you can learn English by watching movies with subtitles training listening and reading at the same time. Also, you can regularly read blogs or listen to podcasts and then, discuss them with a friend.

Use resources that match your level

Want to learn English from zero to at least Upper-Intermediate (B2) level within a short period? Choose study resources that are right for your level or just a bit challenging.

For example, if you’re still a beginner, there is no need to learn English by reading news from BBC. Instead, start with the websites like News in Level or The Times in Plain English. To find the best book to learn English via reading, you can also check out platforms such as Project Gutenberg, a place with free public domain ebooks.

Besides, make sure that the resources you use are not too simple. If you’re an advanced English speaker, reading storybooks for kids is not an option. Of course, understanding each word on the page can make you feel confident. But you’re just wasting your precious time focusing on words that you already know.

Learn vocabulary in the context

How to learn spoken English in the best way? Do not even try memorising words derived from the context you’ve encountered in the dictionary. A perfect way to build extensive vocabulary is to ensure that words in the list you’re learning are related to a strong context. Learn new words and phrases you find in some texts, dialogues, podcasts, books, YouTube videos, etc. The context helps you figure out the meaning of the unknown words and shows in which situations they are used. By the way, this can also help you improve your grammar.

Check out the following short video to understand how to memorise the unknown worlds faster with the context clues:

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Build confidence through daily practising

If you want to improve your English, use it on a regular basis, and you don’t necessarily need to move to an English-speaking country for it. Platforms like MyLanguageExchange.com and ConversationExchange.com connect people worldwide with native speakers who can help them enhance their speaking skills simply staying at home.

There are also various mobile apps such as Tandem that allows you to have a conversation with people from the global learning community. Today, the internet provides a lot of opportunities for learning English by listening to podcasts, watching movies and videos, communicating with others, etc. There are also sites to learn English by song lyrics. Just choose the method that suits you the most and make English learning your everyday habit.

And finally, never give up!

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Language learning is an excellent opportunity for your personal growth and continuous improvement. So, don’t worry to look foolish when you communicate with native speakers or learners with higher fluency level. Don’t be too sad about being corrected. Remember that you’ll never improve your language skills if you’re too afraid of making mistakes. Just stay confident and keep on trying. Why not start today?

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CandiceCandice Benjamin is a specialist English teacher with more than 5 years of online teaching experience. Candice has taught English to children and adults alike off various levels, ensuring that each achieves their respective goals. Preparing students for IELTS and TOEFL exams is a passion for Candice as she prides herself on helping students pass the exam, achieving their desired score or more. Candice is patient and determined to produce significant results for her students.